From November 8 to 10, 2016, a diverse group of experts in Inuit sexual health from across all four Inuit regions and across the federal, provincial and territorial governments, met in Ottawa, Ontario, to discuss the vision, goal, principles and priorities for a national strategy.

Based on discussions at this meeting, Pauktuutit developed a national strategy with six strategic priorities that promotes and protects Inuit sexual health, and identifies priority issues and actions for governments, national associations, Inuit organizations and communities to improve sexual-health outcomes for Inuit. The strategic priorities were sent to the participants and the National Inuit Committee on Health for validation.

Feedback from participants was then integrated into the final report. Pauktuutit has taken a strength-based approach to the strategy, choosing to focus on the promotion of healthy sexuality such as the importance of pleasure, intimacy, acceptance of differences in sexual orientation and positive relationships, rather than focusing primarily on the common challenges associated with sexual health such as sexual violence, child sexual abuse, teen pregnancy and the high rates of STBBIs. By promoting healthy sexuality, Pauktuutit is hopeful about starting to see improved sexual health outcomes.